The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will collaborate with BetterGov.PH to develop the official national government web portal, gov.ph.
Announced at the inaugural BetterGov.PH Summit, the initiative signals a shift in strategy for the government, which has traditionally relied on third-party private contractors to build its digital infrastructure.
The government plans to publish the portal’s source code in the coming weeks under an open-source framework, allowing the public and independent developers to review the software and contribute directly to its development.
Aside from the partnership, the group also launched the BetterGovPH Fellowship at the summit, introducing a three-month incubator supported by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Mozilla Foundation, the WeSolve Foundation, and the Philippine Open Government Partnership.
Participants in the program will focus on resolving administrative challenges submitted by five government agencies: the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Education (DepEd), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The initiative is backed by PHP 450,000 in combined funding sourced from volunteer contributions and grants from Mozilla.